Top Consumer Stocks
WMT -0.4%
MCD -0.2%
DIS +3.0%
CVS -1.0%
KO +0.36%
Consumer stocks were mixed in afternoon trading, with shares of consumer staples companies in the S&P 500 ( XLP ) dropping about 0.2% while shares of consumer discretionary firms ( XLY ) in the S&P 500 were posting a nearly 0.3% advance.
In industry news:
As expected, The Walt Disney Company ( DIS ) Thursday announced the $52.4 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox's ( FOX ) film and television studios, along with much of its cable and international TV businesses. Under terms of the all-stock transaction, Fox shareholders will receive 0.2745 of a Disney share for each share they now own. Disney also will assume around $13.7 billion of Fox debt, boosting the total transaction above $66 billion. Fox is keeping its local broadcast properties, cable news and business channels and its regional sports networks.
Elsewhere, retail and food-services sales rose 0.8% during November, the government said today, topping the upwardly revised 0.5% increase the prior month and beating the Econoday consensus looking for a 0.3% gain. Excluding cars and parts, sales grew 1.0% last month, also exceeding expectations for a 0.7% rise.
Among consumer stocks moving on news today:
- Chicken producer Sanderson Farms ( SAFM ) suffered a double-digit decline on Thursday after reporting fiscal Q4 net income of $3.20 per share, falling from a $3.36 per share profit during the same quarter last year and missing the Capital IQ consensus by $0.26 per share. Net sales grew 16.3% to $919.9 million, beating the $916.1 million analyst mean.
In other sector news,
+ Sinclar Broadcast Group (SBGI) received a boost Thursday from Jefferies & Co. after the research shop today began analyst coverage of the company with a Buy rating and a $48 price target.
- Vuzix Corp (VUZI) stumbled over 17%, sinking to a session low of $5.60 a share, after the consumer electronics company today priced a $12.5 million direct offering of nearly 2.07 million shares of common stock to existing institutional investors at $6.05 apiece, a 10.3% discount to Wednesday's closing price. The company also issued three-year warrants to buy up to 1.03 million additional shares, exercisable at $7.00 a share.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
